Iceland and Stockholm Photography Trip, June 2016
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This is my trip. My whole trip. You'll get it all. Artistic photos, long exposure photos, animal photos, spur-of-the-moment iPhone photos, behind-the-scenes iPhone photos, travel photography, street photography, and more. Iceland is about the size of Ohio, but with 330,000 people. About half live in the capital city of Reykjavik, which quickly became one of my favorite cities. It's not too large, has high-end gourmet restaurants, bar and club scenes so cool that Europeans will fly in for the weekend, a world class concert hall, cool bookstores and record stores, super kind people who, if they are driving, always stop if you are crossing the street, and much more. And you drive a little bit out, and you are in nature. Beautiful nature. During one drive, you can see black sand beaches, moss-covered lava fields, enormous glaciers, lagoons with blue chunks of ice the size of apartment buildings floating lazily, no end of waterfalls tumbling off green cliffs, Icelandic horses, cool abandoned buildings, caves, gorgeous churches perched on hillsides, lush fields of lupine as far as the eye can see, and so much more. This was a very special trip. I have wanted to go to Iceland for quite a few years now, and thanks to my father who helped out with this in a big way, I finally got to go. And to be able to go with a bunch of photographers...that was a very special treat. I went with them for the first half of the trip, and for the second half, drove around the island myself, which was magical as well. I hope to go again some day again, maybe for a trip during the summer with Lisa, getting a cool modern smaller camper and hitting the road perhaps. And maybe another trip in the winter to photograph the Northern Lights. ~~~~~ This photo of an Icelandic horse is featured in the Summer Reader Issue of the Los Angeles Times, both the print and digital version! |
It's not so great, however, if you are stranded there. I had a stopover on the way to Iceland. Five minutes before I was to board Scandinavian Air, the pilots went on strike. And it gets better. They lost my luggage. So I was in Stockholm for two days with the same smelly clothes I'd been wearing on the trip so far, trying to get another flight to take me to Reykjavik, where I would join up with Lance Keimig and a group of photographers for a trip around the Westfjords in Iceland. If I could make it in time. After finally booking a flight and taking care of things, I decided to go to Gamla Stan, the Old Town of Stockholm. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gamla Stan Mickey Mouse (2016-06-11 02:54) Trying to turn lemons into lemonade. Mickey Mouse gives the thumbs up in Gamla Stan, the attractive old town in Stockholm, Sweden. Scandinavian Air (SAS) pilots went on strike, and I was stranded in Stockholm without my luggage, but I did get to see some of the city and Vasa Museum. As a bonus, I met Mats, a friend, while in Stockholm, who took me to visit some old Viking sites nearby. The people in Stockholm were always very kind, and I hope to return to Sweden some day. Taken with a Nikon D7000/Tokina 11-16mm f/8 1/500 ISO 200. |
Gamla Stan, the Old Town of Stockholm. Even here, they are not safe from 7-11. No, I didn't go in to see if they had Slurpees. |
 Why I was taking photos of familiar stores, I'll never know. Another street scene in Gamla Stan, Stockholm, Sweden, this one of Ben and Jerry's. |
 Swedish people playing Pokémon Go. |
 Gamla Stan. |
In 1628, people were not dumb. They knew how to build a ship. How this was built, I'll never know. I didn't know the story above when I walked in, and my first reaction was, "How strange! That ship is too tall and doesn't look wide enough to be sea-worthy." Turns out it wasn't. So after 333 years on the sea bed the top-heavy double-decker warship was hauled to the surface, and the painstaking efforts to salvage the ship began. Today Vasa is the world's only preserved 17th century ship and the most visited museum in Scandinavia. |
 The ship itself, even if it's lousy at floating, is a work of art. Two decks of guns, lots of artwork, including some poking fun at some of the other kings, can be seen when one visits the really fantastic museum. |
So after visiting Gamla Stan, I took a bus back to the hotel near the airport. Checking my Facebook messages, I realized that Mats, part of a group of musician/audio friends that I have that interact primarily on Facebook or various audio forums online, had contacted me. He had heard about me being stranded in Stockholm without luggage and all, and said, "Hey, I'm in Stockholm! Let's get together!" So we did. Really cool guy. He mentioned that I could stay at his place, a farmhouse in Vasteras, adding that it was only fifteen minutes from the airport where I would fly from Stockholm to Reykjavik. Cool. That sounded good, so that's what we did. I hung out with him and his wife. I am indebted to them as well for all the help that they gave me, and all the warmth and hospitality and fascinating information about Stockholm, all of which makes me really want to return again. Thank you, Mats and Marie! |
At Anundshög people gathered gathered for the Thing (district court), even as late as the Middle Ages. At this location, people sacrificed to their gods and later prayed to the new Christian god. It was here the dead were buried, in large and impressive burial mounds or simple and insignificant graves along the side of the ridge down towards the water, according to power and position. |
 Rune Stone of Anundshög (2016-06-11 14:50)While stranded in Stockholm, I had an opportunity to meet a friend, Mats. He and his wife Marie took me to see a thousand year old ruins of the Vikings. Although late, the sun still hung barely below the horizon. Nonetheless, I was still able to light paint, illuminating this rune stone with a ProtoMachines LED2 flashlight during the 30 second f/8 ISO 200 exposure with a Nikon D7000/Tokina 11-16mm. I've included information from both the Anundshög website as well as what Mats wrote about the inscription: At Anundshög people gathered gathered for the Thing (district court), even as late as the Middle Ages. At this location, people sacrificed to their gods and later prayed to the new Christian god. It was here the dead were buried, in large and impressive burial mounds or simple and insignificant graves along the side of the ridge down towards the water, according to power and position. The rune stone inscription reads: "Folkvid raised all these stones after Heden, Anund’s brother. Vred carved the runes." Folkvid was a powerful man in Badelunda at the beginning of the 11th century. He paid for the road past Anundshög and marked it with a row of standing stones. Folkvid also paid for the impressive rune stone to tell the world for all time about his son, his road and himself. It is certain that it is not Anund who was buried in the large mound. The name Anund was very common during the 9th and 10th centuries and the mound is probably from the 6th to 8th century. Vred both knew the runes and was skilful at carving them and he produced this remarkable rune stone. He has carved the runes around a picture which is unique among Swedish rune stones. We do not know how the picture should be interpreted, but it could perhaps be the forms of a woman and a man which are intertwined with each other. The people of the Viking era would have understood what Vred intended with his pictures. |
 Viking Ship of Frösåkers Brygga (2016-06-11 15:34)We come from the land of the ice and snow, From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow. Hammer of the gods, will drive our ships to new land. To fight the hordes, and sing and cry. Valhalla I am coming. - Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham) Mats and his wife Marie took me to see an amazing replica of a Viking wooden boat at this remarkable recreation of a Viking village in Vasteras, Sweden, near Stockholm. Although late, the sun still hung barely below the horizon. Nonetheless, I was still able to light paint, illuminating the wooden ships with a ProtoMachines LED2 flashlight during the 30 second f/8 ISO 200 exposure with a Nikon D7000/Tokina 11-16mm @ f/8 ISO 200 30 second exposure. Special thanks to Mats and Marie for taking me to these special places!!!! |
 Viking Village at Frösåkers Brygga (2016-06-11 15:47)Mats and his wife Marie took me to see an amazing recreation of a Viking village in Vasteras, Sweden, near Stockholm, where skills from the old Viking lifestyle are still taught. Although late, the sun still hung barely below the horizon. Nonetheless, I was still able to light paint, illuminating the wooden ships with a ProtoMachines LED2 flashlight during the 30 second f/8 ISO 200 exposure with a Nikon D7000/Tokina 11-16mm @ f/8 ISO 200 30 second exposure. |
Mats and Marie in their back yard. On this fine morning, they treated me to some herring and fresh cheese. I can't remember the name of the cheese, but it was amazing, and the herring was rather tasty as well. |
There was no office. No SAS personnel was there. They are a rinky two-bit airline that no one should fly unless they carry all their luggage with them on the airplane and chain themselves to it. Being a photographer, I didn't have that choice. I had traveled like that before, carrying everything on the plane, but this was no longer feasible. After running around the airport and inquiring everywhere and leaving messages with SAS, I asked where SAS hangs out when they are around. They pointed to a corner on the other side of a large room. I went over there. There was luggage everywhere, just sitting there. I sifted through it, and after a few minutes, found my luggage! I had my tripod and some other items in there, all my clothes, camera batteries, filters, and lots of other things that weirdo photographers have. I was back in business! I met up with the others a few hours later after calling Lance and telling him that I had arrived and, even better, had my luggage. We ate some really great food, and then afterwards, walked over to Skúli Craft Bar, which had some delicious brews. Beer is not cheap in Iceland, particularly craft brews. At the time I was there, one U.S. dollar equaled 115 Icelandic Króna. iPhone photo.
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All Tired (2016-06-13 14:20) |
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 Bjarnafoss Stream (2016-06-13 16:01)Despite having a dramatic waterfall, I sometimes like to photograph the streams it creates. I traveled toward the west part of Iceland with a photographic group led by Lance Keimig. We visited the Bjarnafoss waterfall on the Snaefellsjokull Peninsula en route to Westfjords. This is probably one of the few times we had really clear skies on the whole trip, as it was overcast and cloudy most of the time. This and most of the other waterfalls I saw in Iceland are magnificent and dramatic beyond compare, primeval water tumbling down spectacular cliffs. Nikon Nikon D610/Nikkor 14-24mm 3/40 second exposure (1/2 second f/22 ISO 100). |
 The Black Church of Buðir And Headstone (2016-06-13 16:56)For the first part of the trip, I traveled toward the west part of Iceland with a photographic group led by Lance Keimig. We stopped at the Black Church of Budir, which is in a typical Lutheran style for this region. This is probably one of the few days we had really clear skies on the whole trip, as it was overcast and cloudy most of the time. The Buðir black church is one of 3 black churches in Iceland. They are black because the exterior wood is painted with pitch, just like the hull of a boat to protect it from the harsh Icelandic elements. I liked the image of the headstone, luscious green grass with yellow flowers, blue sky, and black church, and although this looked good with muted colors or in black and white, I chose to let the colors remain. Nikon D610/Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 1/250s f/8 ISO 100. I used focus stacking, taking two photos and blending them together to achieve a final image where both the nearby headstone as well as the black church are in focus. |
 Lance brought an Onyx large format film camera, which takes particularly beautiful images, especially in the hands of a gifted photographer, as he is. I, on the other hand, took this with an iPhone. His camera may take better images, but mine can upload images to Facebook much faster. :D |
 The Black Church of Buðir And The Open Sea (2016-06-13 17:19)For the first part of the trip, I traveled toward the west part of Iceland with a photographic group led by Lance Keimig. We stopped at the Black Church of Budir, which is in a typical Lutheran style for this region. This is probably one of the few days we had really clear skies on the whole trip, as it was overcast and cloudy most of the time. The Buðir black church is one of 3 black churches in Iceland. They are black because the exterior wood is painted with pitch, just like the hull of a boat to protect it from the harsh Icelandic elements. Nikon D610/Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 1/160s f/8 ISO 100. |
 Suzanne looks on as Lance sets up his film camera. And yes, that is the moon in the back. iPhone photo. |
I didn't have the most optimal light for this, as the dynamic range was pretty harsh, so I didn't share this on social media, but I still wanted to remember this amazing waterfall, so here it is. |
 A shark museum, although we never actually went to visit. I just like the poster. iPhone photo. |
 Stykkurhumur Hotel restaurant. We had good food all over the island, and eating in Stykkurhumur was no exception. iPhone photo. |
And now, I will fascinate you with some random facts about the town of Stykkishólmur, where the church is located: |
 Viking Sushi, iPhone photo. |
 14 June 2016:Panorama view of our ferry boat ride in this iPhone panorama photo. |
Are You Just Happy To See Me (2016-14-15:50) |
 BA 64 (2016-06-14 16:08)Built in 1912 in Norway, the ship had numerous owners/countries before finding an Icelandic owner after World War II. Its hull was reinforced for icy waters. Once whaling restrictions became more widespread, Garðar BA 64 (a name it finally received in 1963) was used or fishing herring in the waters off of Iceland. The ship was finally deemed unsafe for service in 1981. However, rather than be dismantled, the old ship was run aground in Skápadalur Valley where it remains to this day, falling apart bit by bit. Nikon D610/28-300mm, f/500 f/8 ISO 200. |
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Iceland and Stockholm Photography Trip, June 2016
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Eleven Shadows Travel Page
Contact photographer/musician Ken Lee
This is a sneak preview of what is to come. 
11 June 2016:
This is basically how the story goes. The King commissioned a big show of strength, using a large part of Sweden's funds to build a double-decker ship. Launching it to great fuss, the Vasa ship made its maiden voyage, only to capsize and sink 20 minutes later. Yeah.
Here is an iPhone photo of Some traditional Swedish food, Pyttapanna (diced meat and potatoes with an egg on top) at Restaurang Kaffegillet in Gamla Stan, Stockholm. I never had meatballs in Sweden. Sorry.
As a bonus, they took me to some areas near their home, historic sites from the time of the Vikings! This is Anundshög, 11 June 2016.
12 June 2016:
I landed in Reykjavik. I had been told by Scandinavian Air, SAS, that there was an office that likely had my luggage. 
13 June 2016:
Bjarnafoss Waterfall (2016-06-13 15:37)
Kirkjufell And Waterfall (2016-06-13 19:19)
Stykkisholmur Church (2016-06-13 22:15)
We took the ferry ride to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, which seemed really remote.
